Visions of an urban apocalypse: Camouflaged troops fire at shadows in burned-out skeletons of buildings. Bodies of soldiers and civilians entwine on bomb-blasted sidewalks. Survivors recall the stench of burning flesh.

These were some of the horrors that Russian television viewers
witnessed nightly during their government's final assault
on Groznyy, capital of the breakaway republic of Chechnya,
in January and early February.

Though Groznyy has fallen, there is no guarantee that similar
scenes will not be repeated in the weeks and months ahead,
as a determined force of self-styled freedom fighters in
one of Russia's mountainous southern republics promises
renewed resistance against the might of Russian arms. Who
are the Chechens? Why are they fighting? And why is their
struggle of concern to the rest of the world?

REBELLION POSES DILEMMA FOR THE WEST

Chechnya is a small nation, about the size of the state
of Connecticut, populated largely by a distinctive Muslim
ethnic group. Czarist Russia brought the area under its
control in the 1860s and it eventually became a part of
the Soviet Union. But Moscow has never considered Chechnya
especially friendly territory. Large numbers of Chechens
were brutally deported to central Asia in 1944 by Joseph
Stalin because of their alleged collaboration with Germany.

With the breakup of the USSR at the end of 1991, independence
movements flared across a wide swath of the former communist
state, leading to armed conflict in Georgia, Azerbaijan,
Armenia, and Chechnya, among other areas.

Moscow, which remains the dominant force in the Russian
Federation - essentially the successor to the USSR - has
fiercely resisted these independence bids. In the case of
Chechnya, Russia has an economic interest in railways and
oil pipelines that run through the country. More generally,
it fears that allowing an ethnic minority to break away
could lead to fragmentation of the federation, resulting
in ever escalating ethnic conflict.

Western concerns about these struggles have focused mainly
on their humanitarian aspects: reports of torture and slaughter
of civilians, and massive flows of refugees from war-ravaged
areas. More broadly, some fear that such conflicts could
spill over the borders of other countries in the area and
result in wider wars, and the possibility that military
successes in places like Chechnya might embolden Russia
to adopt a more aggressive posture in other regional conflicts
in the future.

Moscow - which still controls a vast nuclear arsenal - has
reacted with hostility toward "meddling" by the West in
what it considers an internal affair.

The United States has issued strong statements of concern
over reported atrocities and what it considers use of excessive
force, and the Western powers have discussed possible limited
economic sanctions.

Stronger steps, such as suspension of diplomatic relations
or military intervention along the lines of NATO's involvement
in Yugoslavia, have never seriously been proposed. Other
concerns have taken precedence: nuclear disarmament, the
encouragement of continuing democratization in Russia, and
the integration of the former Soviet bloc into western economic
structures such as the Group of Eight - an association of
the largest industrial states in the world that recently
expanded to include Russia.

CHRONOLOGY OF A CRISIS

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991 rekindled
aspirations of the Chechen people for independence. In December
1994, Russian tanks entered Groznyy to put down a rebellion.
But expectations of an easy victory similar to the repression
of Czech independence in 1968 quickly dissipated in the
face of a determined armed resistance. After clashes reminiscent
of World War II battles, resulting in widespread destruction
in Groznyy, Russian forces withdrew in August 1996, inaugurating
three years of de facto independence.

Incursions by Chechen rebels into the neighboring Russian
republic of Dagestan, which Chechens consider part of their
ethnic homeland, triggered a new Russian offensive in August
1999. The following month, the Russian government blamed
Chechens for a series of apartment building bombings in
Moscow and other Russian cities. These attacks left 300
people dead and re-energized anti-Chechen sentiments in
Russia.

In the fall of 1999, Russian forces easily captured Chechnya's
northern plains. In mid-December the invasion stalled as
ground forces met fierce opposition from snipers on the
fringes of Groznyy.

Intensive artillery and air strikes against Groznyy took
their toll, and rebels began a disastrous retreat to the
west and south on January 31. Six days later, Russian Acting
President Vladimir Putin - who had gained popularity partly
because of his hard-line Chechnya policy - declared the
battle for Groznyy over. Fleeing rebels, trying to link
up with guerrilla strongholds in the south, pledged to
continue a hit-and-run war in their own country and elsewhere
in Russia.

Eye in the Sky is a weekly series that brings you the story behind the headlines using satellite imagery, remote sensing, aerial photography, and maps. This feature is developed by National Geographic News with the sponsorship of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) and Earth-Info. Check out maps and imagery at http://www.earth-info.org.

 Ethnic Chechens believe themselves to be an ancient tribal people of Middle Eastern origin who have lived in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia for many centuries.
 Before the 1994-96 war with Russia, 1.2 million people lived in Chechnya, including more than 400,000 ethnic Russians.
 Chechnya is roughly the size of the state of Connecticut, covering about 5,000 square miles (13,000 square kilometers).
 An impoverished mountain region, Chechnya has few natural resources of its own, but is the site of important railway links and oil pipelines between the Caspian and Black Seas.

More Information

KEY DATES IN CHECHNYA CONFLICT:

December 31, 1991: Dissolution of the Soviet Union

March 1992: Formation of the Russian Federation

December 1994: Civil war breaks out in Chechnya. Russia sends 40,000 troops in anticipation of easily quelling the uprising, but the offensive bogs down.

August 1996: Russians withdraw, inaugurating three years of de facto independence.

August 1999: Chechen rebels make incursions into neighboring Russian region of Dagestan, triggering new Russian offensive.

January 31: After furious air and artillery bombardments, rebels begin retreat from Groznyy.

February 6: Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin declares the battle for Groznyy over. Rebels pledge to carry on a hit-and-run campaign and threaten to take their struggle to other regions of Russia.